I, Frankenstein (2014)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  3 / 10

  I, Frankenstein is just as soulless as its titular creation. How many times does Hollywood want to rinse Mary Shelley's novel dry? 'Frankenstein', 'Bride of Frankenstein', 'Young Frankenstein', 'Van Helsing' and even 'Frankenweenie'. All the same story but with slight different interpretations. In this fantasy action flick, Frankenstein's monster is in the midst of a war between gargoyles and demons where his master's re-animation methods are sought after by a "powerful demon". Do you see that quote on the front cover? "From the producers of Underworld", yeah...it's the exact same story. Exactly the same! A supernatural war hidden from humans where the protagonist is on neither side. Let's just call this 'Underworld: Religious Borefest'. Are there any positives? Eckhart, Otto and Nighy give their best with what was given to them I guess. The effects for the ascension and descension of souls kept my eyes occupied for a while. Also the infrequent action scenes weren't filmed badly at all! It's just weighted down by a horrifically uninspired story that takes itself far too seriously which consequently sucks all the fun out of the film. Completely focussed on building lore and backstory that it becomes a detriment to the narrative flow. Immediately it describes this eternal war and how Frankenstein's monster (named Adam by the way...) is soulless...yet I literally couldn't care less. Exposition after exposition after exposition. You cannot make a compelling story without incorporating fulfilling characters. None of them were even partially developed, just tools in assisting the over reliant visual effects driven fight scenes. Speaking of, the gargoyle and demon designs were blander than Eckhart's half dead face. The final showdown that was built up finishes a minute after it commences. Frankenstein's Monster (I refuse to call him Adam) just mopes around bathing in his own cocoon of self depression where Eckhart does his best Batman impression. Worst of all, the final words of the film were "I...Frankenstein". Yup, I'm not even joking. Perhaps I, Frankenstein should've stayed dead...

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